The GPS III Non-Flight Satellite Testbed (GNST) completed pathfinding activities at Lockheed Martin’s state-of-the-art GPS III Processing Facility outside of Denver prior to it shipping to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to test facilities and pre-launch processes there in advance of the arrival of the first GPS III flight satellite in mid-2014. (handout)

The guinea pig satellite for the next generation GPS III system — built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Jefferson County — arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday to begin all the dry run tests before the actual first satellite is launched.

A prototype satellite, called the GPS III Non-Flight Satellite Testbed (GNST) will be subjected to all the same stressors and pre-launch processes as the first flight GPS III satellite will endure when it arrives at the Cape in 2014 other than the physical rocket launch itself.

The GNST completed a number of high-fidelity and environmental test procedures at Lockheed’s Waterton Canyon facility prior to shipping from Buckley Air Force Base.

While a “test run” satellite may seem financially wasteful, the Air Force decided that the GNST would help “identify and resolve development issues prior to integration and test of the first flight space vehicle.”

The GNST is being called a ‘pathfinder’ — putting in place the processes for all subsequent GPS III satellites from the initial development phase through production, integration and test, and pre-launch activities.

“All future GPS III satellites will follow this same path, so the GNST was a smart initiative to help us discover and resolve any issues in advance, implement production efficiencies, and ultimately save a tremendous amount of time and money in the long run,” said Keoki Jackson, vice president for Lockheed Martin’s Navigation Systems mission area, in a news release.

GPS III satellites is predicted to deliver three times better accuracy and have a new civil signal that will be able to communicate with international global navigation systems – a process known as interoperability.

The first flight satellite is expected to launch in 2015. Lockheed Martin is currently on contract for the first four GPS III satellites.

Emilie Rusch covers retail and commercial real estate for The Post. A Wisconsin native and Mizzou graduate, she moved to Colorado in 2012. Before that, she worked at a small daily newspaper in South Dakota. It's the one with Mount Rushmore.